Dual purpose floor cleaning tool



R. DESCARRIES DUAL PURPOSE. FL-OOR CLEANING TOOL April 30, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 11, 1966 A A w FlG.i

, INVENTOR. RAYMOND DESCARRIES ATTORNEYS April 1963 R. DESCARRIES 3,380,106

DUAL PURPOSE FLOOR CLEANING TOOL Filed Aug. 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6

FIG.7

- INVENTOR RAYMOND 'DESCARRIES /zam ATTO RN EY United States Patent corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 571,764 4 Claims. (Cl. 15-417) My invention relates to vacuum cleaners and in particular to a dual purpose floor cleaning tool adapted for use as a broom for cleaning hardwood, linoleum, or tile floors and also as a rug and carpet cleaner.

Dual purpose rug and floor cleaning tools of the type described above are known in which the nozzle body of the tool is provided with dissimilar nozzles in back-toback relation on the nozzle body and the nozzle body is rotatable about the associated elbow. By rotating the nozzle body 180, the desired cleaning side of the nozzle is placed in position for use relative to the nozzle elbow, and the tool handle or wand attached to the elbow. As the nozzle body is being rotated, a valve mechanism is operated to connect the selected nozzle aperture with the suction source, and close off the opposite nozzle aperture.

A disadvantage of the known tool is that it cannot operate in inaccessible places, i.e. under furniture, chairs, etc., because if the nozzle elbow or handle is rotated from the vertical or normal position of the handle, to a position substantially parallel with the floor, the nozzle valve is actuated which closes off the aperture of the nozzle body adjacent the floor and opens the nozzle aperture remote from the floor. As a result, the tool is inoperative for cleaning under objects which are close to the floor and most difficult to reach.

According to my invention, a dual purpose floor and rug cleaning tool is provided in which the nozzle elbow is rotatable relative to the nozzle body through 90 in both a clockwise and counterclockwise direction without operating the nozzle valve whereby the cleaning tool is adapted to reach inaccessible places and is operative, when the handle or wand is positioned parallel to the floor being cleaned.

Therefore, a principle object of my invention is to provide a dual purpose floor cleaning tool of the type noted above, which is useful in inaccessible places by turning the tool handle, or nozzle elbow, from the normal vertical position into a horizontal position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a dual purpose floor cleaning tool that is reliable in operation and consists of a minimum number of uncomplicated parts which are inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

The foregoing objects and advantages, together with additional objects and advantages of this invention, will become apparent from the fol-lowing detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view in cross section of a dual purpose floor cleaner nozzle according to my invention and taken on line 11 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1, which also shows the cleaner nozzle in its rug and carpet cleaning position.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 in which the nozzle body has been turned 180 relative to the nozzle elbow as shown in FIG. 2 and in which the tool is in the floor cleaning position.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view illustrating the operative relationship of specific elements according to the embodiment disclosed in the drawing.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 2.

3,380,106 Patented Apr. 30, 1968 FIGS. 6 to 11 are diagrammatic views showing the various operative positions of the cleaner nozzle according to the invention as shown in FIGS. 1-5.

As seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the dual purpose floor cleaning tool comprises a nozzle body 10 which is unbalanced to one side by a weight 10a and has a floor cleaning side 11 including a brush 12 surrounding an elongated aperture 13. The rug cleaning side 14 of the nozzle body 10 includes glider pads 15 and another elongated aperture 16. The apertures 13 and 16 may be identical as shown, or distinct. The nozzle body 10 is hollow and the interior chamber 17 thereof connects each of the apertures 13 and 16 with the nozzle elbow 20 which in turn connects the tool with a known handle or Wand (not shown). As is Well known, the handle or wand is connected to a vacuum cleaner whereby air is drawn through the nozzle body 10 for entraining dust, dirt, etc.

Within chamber 17 of the nozzle body 10 a blade valve 18 of spring steel or the like is present for directing airflow through either nozzle aperture 13 or 16 whichever is selected by the user. The blade valve 18 is pivotally connected at each end to the housing 10 in any suitable manner, and has a stirrup 19 attached to it at about the mid-section thereof. The space between the blade valve 18 and stirrup 19 receives a lever 31 projecting axially from an actuating sleeve 32. The distance measured between stirrup 19 and blade valve 18 is made slightly larger than the corresponding dimension (thickness) of the lever 31. However, the width of the lever is greater than the distance between the stirrup 19 and blade valve 18, but not large enough to prevent the rotation of the lever about its longitudinal axis between the stirrup and blade of the valve. Therefore, when the blade valve 18 and lever 31 are rotated relative to one another, as indicated in FIGS. 6-11, the lever forces the blade and stirrup of the valve 18 apart. The sleeve 32 fits into an annular recess in the hose body 10 and is free to rotate within this recess. The sleeve 32, as best seen in FIG. 4, also has a lug 33 diametrically opposite the lever 31 which projects from the sleeve so that it engages either the shoulder 21 or 22 on the inlet end 20:: of the elbow 20. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the elbow 20 can be rotated from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the left or to the right before the shoulder 21 or 22 abuts against the lug 33. Therefore with the nozzle body 10 on a floor, the elbow and the associated wand can be turned from the vertical plane into the horizontal plane without moving the actuating sleeve 31, and as a result, without moving the blade valve 18. As a consequence, the nozzle body can be pushed under low slung objects by lowering the wand, or elbow, into the horizontal position and the selected cleaning aperture will remain in communication with the vacuum cleaner via the elbow 20, wand, and so forth.

From FIG. 2, it will be evident that in the position of the nozzle body 10 for rug cleaning use, the blade valve 18 prevents air from entering chamber 17 through the floor cleaning aperture 13 of the nozzle body. When the nozzle body 10 is turned through from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 3, the blade valve prevents air from entering the nozzle body via the rug cleaning aperture 16.

In order to select the desired floor cleaning side of the nozzle body 10, the operator merely lifts the body 10 away from the floor. The weight 10a Will cause the body 10 to pivot about the elbow 20 and assume a substantially vertical position. With the nozzle body vertically positioned, it can be easily r-ot-ated further by engaging the lower end with the floor and an appropriate movement of the wand places the desired cleaning side of the nozzle on the surface to be cleaned.

In each operative position of the nozzle body the blade valve 18 is remote from the cleaning aperture adjacent to the floor. The position of the valve 18 is controlled by the actuating sleeve 31 and the associated lever 30 as best seen diagrama-tically in FIGS. 6-11.

FIG. 6 corresponds with FIG. 1, in which the elbow 20 is in its normal vertical position wherein the associated inlet end 280 is positioned as shown, and the stirrup 19 is on the upper side of the spring valve 18. As the nozzle "body is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow, the spring valve 18 rotates with it and the position of the valve 18 relative to the nozzle body does not change through 90 (FIG. 7). The actuating sleeve 31 is rotating with valve 18 relative to the inlet 20a of elbow 29 until the lug 33 engages the shoulder 21 (FIG. 8). The sleeve 32 is now arrested but the valve 18 continues to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows, so that the valve 18 now begins to pivot about the lever 31 (FIG. 9). As a result, the lever 31 which has a width greater than the distance between the stirrup 19 and valve 18 forces the blade and stirrup apart causing the blade to assume a serpentine bend. When the lever 31 turns over, i.e. the rotation of the stirrup 19 and valve 18 defines an angle slightly larger than 90 relative to the lever 31 (FIG. 10), the force acting on the lever snaps the actuating sleeve 32 back into its initial position as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 10. From FIGS. 6 and 11, it will be apparent that the stirrup has reversed its position relative to the blade valve 18. That is, in FIG. 6 the stirrup is above the blade 18 in the figure and in FIG. 11 it is below the blade 18. It will also be apparent from FIGS. 5, 6, and 11 that in the operative positions of the nozzle body 10 the elbow 20 is free to move from the vertical position 90 left or right without disturbing the operative position of the spring valve 18.

While I have shown and described a presently preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not intend to restrict the appended claims to the specific details disclosed in the foregoing.

What is claimed is:

1. A dual purpose cleaning tool for a vacuum cleaner comprising an elongated hollow nozzle body having distinct cleaning surfaces on opposite sides of said body and a pair of apertures extending through said cleaning surfaces and opening into the interior of said body, elbow means pivot-ally connected with said body for connecting the interior of said body with a vacuum cleaner, blade valve means connected with said body, said blade valve means having a first position closing one of said apertures and a second position closing the other of said apertures whereby only the aperture postioned for cleaning is in communication with said elbow, and means for moving said valve from said first position into said second position; said last named means including a stirrup carried by said blade valve and spaced therefrom, and an actuating sleeve coaxial with said elbow, lost motion means for coupling said elbow and said actuating sleeve, and a lever connected with said sleeve and projecting into the space between said blade valve and associate-d stirrup.

2. A dual purpose cleaning tool according to claim 1 wherein said actuating sleeve comprises a ring having said lever projecting axially therefrom at one side and a lug projecting from said ring diametrically opposite said lever; said elbow having a cylindrical inner end extending within said body, said inner end having a semi-circular axially extending recess for receiving said lug and defining said lost motion means coupling said elbow and said actuating sleeve.

3. A dual purpose cleaning tool according to claim 2 wherein said lever is elongated in the longitudinal direction of said blade valve for distorting said spring valve when said lever and spring valve are relatively rotated as said spring valve passes from said first position to said second position.

4. A dual purpose cleaning t-ool according to claim 2 wherein the distance between said stir-rup and blade valve is less than the width of said lever measured in the longitudinal direction of said blade valve whereby said lever separates said blade valve and stirrup upon relative rotation of said blade valve and lever for forcing said actuating sleeve into its normal position relative to the inner end of said elbow as the blade valve moves from one position to the other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,838,783 6/1958 Allen 15-417 2,966,693 1/1961 Anderson 15-373 ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DUAL PURPOSE CLEANING TOOL FOR A VACUUM CLEANER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HOLLOW NOZZLE BODY HAVING DISTINCT CLEANING SURFACES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BODY AND A PAIR OF APERTURES EXTENDING THROUGH SAID CLEANING SURFACES AND OPENING INTO THE INTERIOR OF SAID BODY, ELBOW MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED WITH SAID BODY FOR CONNECTING THE INTERIOR OF SAID BODY WITH A VACUUM CLEANER, BLADE VALVE MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID BODY, SAID BLADE VALVE MEANS HAVING A FIRST POSITION CLOSING THE OTHER OF SAID APERTURES AND A SECOND POSITION CLOSING THE OTHER OF SAID APERTURES WHEREBY ONLY THE APERTURE POSITIONED FOR CLEANING IS IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID ELBOW, AND MEANS FOR MOV- 